Rajasthan High Court
Lodha, J.
Jagan Singh - Appellant
Versus
Chotey Lal - Respondents
S.B. Civil Second Appeal No. 392 of 1970
Decided On : September 04, 1973
In a suit where the main relief asked for by the plaintiff is restoration of the possession of the poperty which is the subject-matter of the instrument, the question whether relief for cancellation must be asked for, would depend upon an answer to the other important question whether the instrument is void ab initio or is voidable. If the instrument is voidable and the avoidance of the same is necessary the relief for cancellation of the instrument is indispensable and in that case the revenue court can give no relief as long as the sale deed is not cancelled. But the position would be different if the instrument is alleged to be or proved to be void ab initio. In that case it would not be necessary to avoid the document and merely by proving that it was a void document, the plaintiff would certainly get the possession of the property without cancellation of the sale deed.
Held = In the the present case the cause of action is no doubt the factum of sale alleged to be void ab initio and the real and substantial relief for possession of the land and the dwelling house standing thereon. That is the real contest between the parties and that is also the substance of the suit as well as the object of the suit. This relief, can be granted only by revenue court and not by the civil court. In this view of the matter I have no doubt that the present suit is triable by revenue court. (Para 8 and 10)
2. The suit was resisted by the defendant inter alia on the ground that it was exclusively triable by a revenue court and was not maintainable in civil court. The learned Munsiff tried the suit on merits and in the result held that the plaintiff had failed to prove fraud as well as lack of consideration. However, he came to the conclusion that the sale was was void-ab-initio being in contravention of the provisions of sec. 42 of the Act. As to the question of jurisdiction, he found that residential land was involved in the suit along with the agricultural land and, therefore, the suit was triable by civil court. In the result he decreed the suit as prayed.
3. Aggrived by the judgment and decree of the trial court the defendant filed appeal and the learned Civil Judge, Jhunjhurm (Camp Sikar) confirmed the judgment and decree of the trial court. He concurred in the finding of the Munsiff that the plaintiff had failed to prove fraud in connection with the sale of the land but he differed from the trial court on the question of consideration and held that the sale deed was proved to be with consideration. He also agreed with the trial court that the sale was void-ab-initio being in contravention of the provisions of sec. 42 of the Act. As regards the objection about the jurisdiction of the civil court to try the suit he reached the same conclusion as arrived at by the trial court though on different grounds. He held that the suit was based on a cause of action in respect of which relief could be obtained only from a civil court.
4. In this second appeal learned counsel for the appellant has urged only the question of jurisdiction. It has been argued by him that the suit is cognizable by revenue court only.
5. Sec. 207 of the Act which is relevant, reads as under :—
"S. 207. Suits and applications cognizable by revenue court only—(1) All suits and applications of the nature specified in Third Schedule shall be heard and determined by a revenue court.
(2) No court other than a revenue court shall take cognizance of any such suit or application or of any suit or application based on a cause of action in respect of which any relief can be obtained by means of any such suit or application.
Explanation—If the cause of action is one in respect of which relief might be granted by the revenue court, it is immaterial that the relief asked for from the civil court is greater than, or additional to, or is not identical with, that which the revenue court could have granted."
6. The subject-matter involved in the suit is agricultural land as also a dwelling house erected on the holding by the tenant for his own occupation and is at may rate a construction on the holding for agricultural purposes. It is not disputed that a suit for possession of the land and the house in question would lie in revenue court. The finding given by the trial court in this respect that the suit is partly for possession of a residential house as distinct from a dwelling house on a holding, has not been supported or relied upon by the learned counsel for the respondent and that is why I have said that the suit is indisputably for p
Login now and unlock free premium legal research
Login to SupremeToday AI and access free legal analysis, AI highlights, and smart tools.
Login
now!
India’s Legal research and Law Firm App, Download now!
Copyright © 2023 Vikas Info Solution Pvt Ltd. All Rights Reserved.